is it possible to go from investment banking to med school?

[pointystar]

High school sophomore (just finished) and I am torn between two career paths, finance or medicine. I love both fields, however I am torn between these two. Is it possible to do the med school pre-reqs in four year college while getting a finance major? Then do a couple years of IB, then just go to med school directly. Is this possible and if so is there a lower chance of getting accepted?

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[Doudline]

High school sophomore (just finished) and I am torn between two career paths, finance or medicine. I love both fields, however I am torn between these two. Is it possible to do the med school pre-reqs in four year college while getting a finance major? Then do a couple years of IB, then just go to med school directly. Is this possible and if so is there a lower chance of getting accepted?

You'll need to take the MCAT (difficult after being removed from basic science for so long), do volunteer work in the medical field, shadow physicians, and have a very good reason behind your career change.

Right now your wanting to go into finance sounds very odd and motivated by greed/prestige more than anything.

 

[Bernoulli]

Not saying that you are, but most people who want to do Investment Banking or med school are really in it to make mad bank yo. lol To answer your question though, yes. You can do any major and the med school prereqs. Some majors are more open than others in that they have less required in-major courses and more electives. Taking the required prereqs in something like Electrical Engineering is pretty difficult with an already heavy 18 credit course load. Just be sure to research the curriculum for the finance major at whatever school you decide on and see if and when you can add the prereqs in.

EDIT: Re-read your question and saw you mentioned lower chances of acceptance. If you graduate from a university and get a job in IB for a few years, you'll most likely be considered a non-traditional applicant when you apply to medical school. You can look up plenty of stats on this website for that sort of thing (I don't know them), but I want to say that med schools like the diversity so the chances might be slightly higher. Don't quote me on that though.

 

[zeminar]

you can major in virtually anything you want in undergrad, so long as you get the pre-reqs for med school, do decently on the mcat, and have the experience (so shadowing, volunteering, etc...). in this case, it might be particularly important for you to gain the experience of shadowing/volunteering because you'll definitely be asked about why you're majoring in finance (as in, if you're majoring in finance do you really know what it's like or have what it takes to go in to the medical profession?) as opposed to a science field. i know more than a few doctors who majored in econ and poli sci in their undergrad. all in all, though, you have some time to decide what you want to major in. there isn't any real pressure to choose a major until your sophomore year of undergrad...you have years to think about it.

 

[fireflygirl]

This should help: I was in IB for 2 years for a top 5 firm. I hated my life went to medical school and matched into my #1 choice for residency. It does not decrease your chances, in fact most of my interviewers were very intrigued by my story and it makes for great conversation several years later. I think it made me more competitive in fact, because I had something else to offer. So YES, it can be done

Just remember, whatever career path you choose, choose it for the right reasons and not for the money. You'll make way more in IB than you'll make in medicine but you'll have to make personal compromises in both, sometimes moral compromises. So make sure whatever field you choose, you do it because you love it.

 

[mdbarbermd]

High school sophomore (just finished) and I am torn between two career paths, finance or medicine. I love both fields, however I am torn between these two. Is it possible to do the med school pre-reqs in four year college while getting a finance major? Then do a couple years of IB, then just go to med school directly. Is this possible and if so is there a lower chance of getting accepted?

Pay off your loans first if you got any

 

[Danny L]

It might be easier if you go straight to medical school and then get a job as an associate in healthcare IB rather than being an analyst straight out of undergrad and then going to med school. Also networking is time consuming and it's possible your GPA will take a hit in your junior year which is the most critical year for both medical school and IB internships.

IMO you should look to get IB internships in the summer after your freshman and sophomore years and if you like your opportunities and/or med school is no longer an option then go IB. Otherwise go to med school. Also if you do something like a neuroscience major and finance minor (or finance major, neuro minor, etc), you've pretty much got your bases covered in terms of areas of study.

 

[neoevolution]

What would be the reason to do IB before med school? To see if you like it better and maybe not apply?

Doing finance + pre-med requirements should be doable, maybe with scheduling ECs being a bit harder, but it would be odd to do premed stuff in UG/take the MCAT, work in IB, and then apply to med school a few years later. I think a lot of non-trads take courses/MCAT after they've been out of UG and working rather than before.

Comparing IB and medicine financially is also tricky. Job stability and employment trends are much safer in medicine, and someone who was motivated by money could feasibly work hard for the fields that pay double the median physician income. I suspect the percentage of people who go into IB and can outearn that is pretty low

 

[futuresurgeon00]

High school sophomore (just finished) and I am torn between two career paths, finance or medicine. I love both fields, however I am torn between these two. Is it possible to do the med school pre-reqs in four year college while getting a finance major? Then do a couple years of IB, then just go to med school directly. Is this possible and if so is there a lower chance of getting accepted?

I did a business undergrad (accounting) and am now heading to dental school this fall. It's definitely doable - extremely challenging though and a lot of hardwork is required though. If you are determined and motivated you can definitely do it.

 

[Advisor Prep]

Is it possible to do the med school pre-reqs in four year college while getting a finance major? Then do a couple years of IB, then just go to med school directly. Is this possible and if so is there a lower chance of getting accepted?

Absolutely!

 

[aalamruad]

Absolutely!

No. What are you talking about

 

[*Typical*]

It is amazing that this thread was brought back to life out of nowhere even though it is 3 years old. The OP has already graduated highschool by now and is in college most likely. I wonder if he is still on SDN and see that people are still answering questions for him!

 

[futuresurgeon00]

It is amazing that this thread was brought back to life out of nowhere even though it is 3 years old. The OP has already graduated highschool by now and is in college most likely. I wonder if he is still on SDN and see that people are still answering questions for him!

LOL... I didn't even notice that